


Malaka, Ezio!

by Cloudywind



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-06 11:00:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20505875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudywind/pseuds/Cloudywind
Summary: 1506 was a troubled time in Roma. The Borgia family ruled the city with a heavy hand in iron gauntlets, and the people lived in fear and poverty. Ezio Auditore da Firenze himself had just lost his hold, his uncle Mario, and most important of all, the Apple of Eden. He was here to make things right, to get his vengeance, and to rebuild the Brotherhood. And someone he could never imagine was going to give him a hand. Let's say someone like a Fairy Great-Great-Great-Godmother.





	1. Good morning, Roma!

Pale white clouds drifted languidly across the light blue sky, roofs of orange tiles shone lustrously in the morning sun. Ezio Auditore da Firenze walked surreptitiously among the crowd on the Piazza del Popolo, listening to everyone's gossip as his white robe brushed past them, his ocean blue eyes watching everyone from under the white hood.

"So many little people on this piazza." He muttered. This piazza reminded him of the square outside Palazzo Della Signora back in Firenze. The place where his father and brothers were executed, but also the place where most of his happier younger days were spent. 

"Buongiorno!" A minstrel suddenly appeared right in front of him, shouting into his face with a wide grin.  
"What th..."  
"Buongiorno!" Another minstrel rushed over with his lute.  
"Buongiorno!" And another?!

Ezio grunted in annoyance and tried to walked out of this ambush of minstrels who then hurried next to him and started singing.

"There goes the hero with his frown, like always,  
The same old hood and sword and blade!  
Every morning just the same,  
Since the morning that he came,  
To this poor, Renaissance town!"

Agonized, Ezio had no choice but to give one of the minstrel nearest to him a push to break out. The lanky man nearly dropped his lute as he stepped back.

"Hey you!" One of the two guards at the bridge saw that and gave the assassin a warning shout before talking to each other in... song?

"Look there he goes, that man is strange, no question!  
Sly and malicious, can't you tell?  
Never part of any crowd,  
'Cause his head's up on some cloud,  
No denying he's dangerous man that one!"

Ezio was not going to stay there to listen to the guards singing! Besides the point that both were utterly out of tune, he would rather not gain any attention from them, for the obvious reason that he was an assassin here to murder their boss. In long strong strides, he crossed the bridge to a quieter alley. A small group of courtesans winked and waved their lacy handkerchiefs at him as he was walking past them.

"Buongiorno! Good day! How are you handsome?" The group of four courtesans sang at the same time.  
Buongiorno! Good day! How is business?" With a wry grin, Ezio replied in a light tone.  
"Hire us, will you?"  
"You're too expensive!" 

Ezio chuckled as he walked away, his feet noticeably lighter now. Another two alleys and he reached his destination. A wooden door which looked like every other in the city, but what that was hidden behind was a whole different world.

"Buongiorno, Ezio!" A man in red giornea and hat opened the door and greeted the assassin with an affectionate smile. The man was in his thirties, his age apparent through the white strands in his royale beard and medium-length hair.  
"Buongiorno, Leonardo!" Ezio hugged the man with a smile that had been saving for him. Leonardo da Vinci, the budding artist and inventor, and Ezio's close friend who he has known since his rascally younger days in Firenze.  
"Caffè?" Leonardo led his friend into his not-too-tidy house with paintings placed haphazardly, some on easels, some on the floor with one stacked behind another, and a long wooden table with curious looking tools and even more bizarre objects which he would call them his inventions.  
"I'm good." Ezio walked to one of the painting on an easel. It was an unfinished painting of a woman in a black gown. "This is new."  
"Ah yes, this one is a favor. Also I'll be handsomely paid."  
"She looks alright." Ezio nodded slowly as he scrutinized the painting. "Just that her smile seems a little off."  
"That's the problem of this whole painting." Leonardo grunted. "The woman can't smile."  
"What do you mean?" Ezio blinked.  
"She just can't smile. And I have to imagine this when I paint." Leonardo pointed to the lips.  
"Well, fortunately you have a good imagination then!" Ezio laughed heartily at his friend.  
"Please tell me you have a new codex for me to decode."  
"Dispiacente, mio amico. I don't have any distraction for you this time."

After a few more casual talks and some serious talks about the Borgia, Ezio bid Leonardo farewell and returned to the street. He gasped in surprise when a group of three merchants with heavy crates in their arms walked right into his path. He thanked his assassin training silently when he managed to skillfully stop in time before knocking all three of them over. The merchants stopped as well to stared at him for a moment, then... they started singing.

"Look there he goes, the man is so peculiar!  
I wonder if he's feeling well?  
With a dreamy, far-off look,  
And his face stuck in a hood,  
What a puzzle to the rest of us is him!"

Ezio smiled awkwardly and decided it was safer to take the high ground. He leaped up the wooden crates near a wall, grabbed the sides of the windows and climbed up to the orange roof. Still squatting, he cased the surrounding, looking out for archers and was glad to find none to his pleasant surprise. He stood up, brushed and tidied his robe before running towards the nearest tall tower. He loved running on roofs. The tranquility above the chaotic crowd on the ground, the feeling of the wind sneaking into his hood and grazing his cheeks. He spotted a tall tower right in front and had the impromptu decision to go to the top and have a good view of the city. But it was a really tall tower and a long climb. So Ezio started to distract himself from his tired limps and fingers by... singing.

"Oh, isn't this amazing?  
It's my favorite part because—you'll see!  
Here's where I'll spot my victims,  
But they won't discover their doom 'til I stab them fr..."

"STOP SINGING!" An irked and rough female voice at the top of the tower stopped Ezio in his climb. In fact, he nearly missed his grip and could have dropped to his death.  
"Cazzo!" Ezio cursed as he swiftly pulled himself up the edge and landed on the tower top. When his feet were firmly grounded, he took a good look at the woman standing even more firmly in front of him. She was tall, almost same height as him, and dressed in a long black leather coat with her face covered in the black hood. She almost looked like an... assassin?

"Is this what assassins do now? Sing as they climb?!" The woman sounded even more forceful and authoritative up close.  
"How do you know I'm an assassin?!" Ezio stared at her, perplexed. Did he know her?  
"Of course I'll know." The woman stared at him with her sharp earthly brown orbs.  
"Who are you?" Ezio definitely felt intimidated by that stare sharp as a hidden blade.  
"I'm your great-great-great..." The woman's even sharper jawlines softened a little as she let out a soft sigh. "Just call me Kassandra."


	2. Kassandra, meet my sister

After the duo descended from the tower, Ezio led the mysterious woman to the Rosa in Fiore. He would have preferred to continue their conversation at La Volpe’s Thieves Guild but the brothel was nearer. The sun was still high up above the hills, which was a quiet time in the brothel anyway. In the hall, only a handful of courtesans lazed around, while a minstrel practiced on his lute. Ezio took the vacant table at the corner, along with a bottle of fine Toscana red from the bar.

“So… Kassandra da Sparta?” Ezio gazed at the woman as he poured a glass of wine for his guest, and another one for himself.  
“Yes?” The woman quirked her neatly trimmed right brow. Now that her hood was down, Ezio could see her soft russet hair neatly braided with a little tail sitting on her left shoulder. Her skin was of a darker shade than the women in Roma, but she had a particular glow which disassociated her from the dark-skinned farmers in the outskirts. No longer obstructed by the shade of her hood, her earthly brown eyes looked even bigger and sharper now, as she gazed at him with her slightly furrowed brows, like a stern mother giving disapproval look to an unruly son. And Ezio did not fancy that feeling.

“I thought Sparta is no more?" It was apparent this woman was not local. But Sparta? The last time that Ezio had seen this word was in one of his father's old history books.  
"Keep saying that and my Spartan Kick will show you what is Sparta." Kassandra said that in a normal non-threatening tone as she leaned back into the chair, already finishing half her glass of wine in a few gulps.  
“Fine. Say you’re really from Sparta.”  
“I _am_ from Sparta.”  
“What is your business in Roma? And how are you related to the Order?”  
“Let’s just say I’m with the ones who created the Order.” With one more gulp, Kassandra finished her wine, then refilled it to the rim, and then took a few more gulps. This wine was good. Unlike the dry and sour ones from Marko’s numerous vineyards. But she did miss that burdensome little man.

“So you came from Masyaf.” Ezio nodded slowly as he took a sip from his glass. “But why are you here?”  
“I’m here because you look like you need a misthios.”  
“What’s a misthios?”  
“I’m a misthios. I’m here to help you.” Kassandra poured the last drop of wine from the bottle and finished that last drop from her glass in another gulp. She loved the wine but hated the wine glass. It was so much more satisfying to drink from a kylix.  
“If you’re here to help me fight the Borgia, I’m listening.” Ezio leaned forward with a smile, placing his forearms on the table.  
“Then we’ll need more wine.” Returning a smile, Kassandra held up her empty glass.  
“Ovviamente.” Ezio chuckled, amused by how thirsty this Spartan woman was. He turned to a group of courtesans near the bar and shouted. “Can someone get me a bottle of wine?” 

“My girls are not your servant!” A woman walked towards the table with a bottle in her hands. Unlike the scantily clad courtesans baring half their chests in their light dresses, she carried herself proudly in an ornate carmine giornea, her raven hair tied into a bun and covered in a crimson silk. Her face was lightly powdered, allowing her fairness to shine through naturally. Her gentle girly voice certainly did not match how hard she placed that bottle of wine onto the table. Ezio was surprised the bottle did not break.  
“I know they’re not, but I’m with a guest.”  
“Yes, they told me you brought a woman here and I was wondering what kind of woman would come to a brothel with my brother.” She shifted her gaze from Ezio to his female guest at the table, who was standing up from her seat.  
With a soft sigh, Ezio stood up as well. “Claudia, this is Kassandra from Sparta. Kassandra, meet my sis…”

“I’m Claudia. Claudia Auditore da Firenze.” Claudia’s gaze was still fixated at her brother’s female guest. The female guest whose mesmerizing eyes were looking deep into hers.  
“Claudia… That’s a nice name.” Kassandra’s lips curled up lightly into a smile as gentle as an eagle feather.  
“Bene. Now that you two are introduced, can we continue with our discussion, Kassandra?” Ezio opened the new bottle of wine and poured into the two glasses on the table. But when he looked up, he suspected nobody heard what he just said.

“Grazie. Kassandra sounds nice too.” Claudia returned an alluring smile as she grazed her fingers down Kassandra’s black leather sleeve wrapping tightly around her bicep. “Sounds strong too.”  
“I _am_ as strong as a goddess.” Kassandra’s smile turned into a proud grin.  
With a sigh, Ezio sat back onto his seat and drank his wine. "Let me know when you girls are done."

"Would you like a tour around the Rosa in Fiore? We are the most popular brothel in Roma." Claudia's fingers continued to travel down Kassandra's sleeve and stopped to linger at her gloved hand.  
"I most certainly would love that." With a smirk, Kassandra caught those busy fingers in her hand, earning a short gasp from Claudia.  
"Well, since this is a brothel, there're mostly rooms upstairs. For the purpose of business." Claudia took a step forward and leaned in to whisper into the Spartan's ear. "But I suspect you'll be most interested in a certain private room which is out of bound. Except for you."  
"Malaka..." That was the only word repeating itself and flooding Kassandra's mind as she was getting drunk by Claudia's floral perfume.  
"I assume that means yes in Greek." Seeing how the woman stuttered, Claudia knew she had won their little flirting game, and it was time to receive the prize. She held on to Kassandra's hand which was still holding on to hers and walked swiftly away from the table and up the stairs.  
"I'll just wait here!" Ezio shouted to the two women hurrying up the stairs and poured himself another glass of wine. 

A few minutes and a few sips later, Ezio finally stood up to leave the brothel. He had decided to venture out of the city to explore one of the lairs of Romulus his assassins had discovered at the Colosseum. Perhaps Kassandra would be available by then. Hopefully.


	3. There were just too many layers!

"Impressive!" Kassandra exclaimed the moment she stepped into Claudia's room. Her gaze was not on the extravagantly gigantic bed covered in a flamboyantly decorated burgundy and gold Egyptian cotton sheet, and big enough for four of her. Definitely not the antique mahogany dresser either. She was staring admiringly at the six daggers on the rack by the wall. In a few strides, she crossed the room and took one of the daggers out of the rack gingerly. 

"This is one good dagger!" She nodded in approval as she grazed her fingers along the shiny silver blade. The ruby held on by the eagle insignia on the handle shimmered as she turned the dagger to admire.  
"This is my favorite." The owner of the dagger curled her lips up into a proud grin. "I made my first kill with it. I still remember how Ezio's face froze when he found me with this dagger and my two attackers lying in their blood on the ground."  
"By Zeus, you are a dangerous woman!" Kassandra placed a hand on her heart and gasped dramatically.  
"I'm an _Auditore_." Claudia corrected the taller woman.  
"So I'd expect Ezio to have a rack of his own in his room, but bigger and with more swords?" Kassandra chuckled.  
"A rack? He has a room for his weapons! Well, had. He had it in our villa in Monteriggioni."  
"Pfffft. Such luxury." Kassandra snorted. "I just throw all my weapons into a chest on my ship."  
"You have a ship?!" It was Claudia's turn to gasp, but less drama and more bona fide.  
"Well, had."  
"What happened to it? You sank it?"  
"No! I'm a good captain!" Kassandra rebutted. Well, Barnabas did most of the navigation, but still! "It was just... retired. It got old, and my crew got old." Great. Now she missed Barnabas. With a soft sigh, she placed the dagger back on the rack where it belonged.

"And now you sound like an old woman." Claudia jested as she wrapped her lanky arms around Kassandra's neck.  
"I _am_ an old woman!" Twenty hundred years old, give or take. Not that Kassandra was still counting.  
"Kassandra, I'm almost forty. And you're at most in your late twenties." Claudia huffed and rolled her eyes.  
"Efcharistó my lamb, but I'm old enough to be your... well, I _am_ your great-great-great-great..." To her surprise, she was interrupted abruptly by a pair of searing lips on hers. Claudia was not going to stand there and wait for this strange sexy woman to count the number of great's.

Kassandra held the smaller woman by her waist and pulled her closer to deepen their kisses. If she was intoxicated by Claudia's floral perfume just now, she was now drowning in her sweet taste. Claudia was just as enticed by Kassandra's ravenous kisses. While she had a couple of short relationships here and there in Monteriggioni, some flings and experiments here in Roma, none could start her furnace as fast and vivid as this strong woman. She slid her hands down from Kassandra's neck and swiftly undid the few buttons that held her long leather coat together. Knowing Claudia's intention, Kassandra released her grip on her waist momentarily to help slide her coat down while Claudia continued to unbuckle her two thick belts followed by the brown leather corset. In soft thuds, the three items joined the coat on the ground. 

Then to Kassandra's displease, Claudia broke away from the kiss.

"What?" Kassandra gaped at the Italian, though she must admit it was a good chance for her to refill some air to her lungs.  
"Must you wear so many layers?!" Brows furrowed, Claudia rested her hands on Kassandra's bosom, which was still hidden in a white cotton blouse.  
"Why does everyone ask me this no matter what I wear?!" Kassandra protested while Claudia unbuttoned all the buttons quickly and impatiently to let the blouse join its companions on the ground in the shortest time possible. But she was amused by that last piece of clothing covering Kassandra's bosom. It was literally a piece of white cloth twisted around the twin peaks.  
"What is this?!"  
"This is what Spartans wear!" Kassandra untied that last piece of clothing bashfully as Claudia giggled. Of course she knew nobody was wearing this anymore. They had something called the bra. But she swore the Spartan way was still more comfortable!  
"Do you have a piece of cloth beneath these trousers as well?" Claudia was still giggled as she unbuttoned those black trousers.  
"No!" Kassandra groaned. But she still wore her white panties.

Soon it was Kassandra's turn to be impatient. She had to help Claudia unleash her hair bun, untie her linen belt around her gown, then undo her gown, then her petticoat, then her inner white linen gown. When she tried to find a way to remove Claudia's maroon lacy bra, she slapped her hands away. She had paid for a high price for it to be delivered from Francia and she was not going to let the Spartan's impatient hands destroy it.

"Praise Aphrodite..." Kassandra muttered when the bra was taken off and she could finally take in the sight of the naked Italian lasciviously. Claudia's skin was fairer and smoother than all the Athena statues she had seen, her curves were prettier than all the ridges in Greece and her peaks stood proudly as she wrapped her arms around her own waist bashfully. Kassandra had to tamp down the growl in her throat when her gaze reached the neatly trimmed patch between her legs. "And you're welcomed."  
"What?" Claudia quirked a perplexed brow.  
"For having a tiny bit of my goddess gene! You're welcomed!"  
"What are you talking ab..." 

Not willing to think that she was going to sleep with her great-great-great-descendant, Kassandra quickly pressed her lips on Claudia's and picked her up by her waist and took her to the gigantic bed. Hovering over the smaller woman, her lips left Claudia's and continued its journey along her jawline, then down to her neck. It started as light kisses, then it became nips and then it turned into eager bites, earning some lustful moans from Claudia. But before she could continue her kisses and bites downwards, Kassandra felt an abrupt push and a roll, and suddenly she was lying on her back and staring at Claudia above her. "What..."  
"This is _my_ bed." Claudia scoffed before returning the favor with her kisses. The only difference was that she did not aim for the neck. She went straight for the nub on Kassandra's right peak.  
"By Zeus!" Claudia's warm mouth and rough tongue sent a thunderbolt straight down Kassandra's stomach and between her legs. If this was part two of their flirting game, she had already lost miserably. And Claudia knew that. Shifting over to the other peak, she covered its nub in her mouth as her hand slid down Kassandra's ripped stomach, till she reached the treasure cove already flooded with desire. Just a slight touch and Kassandra gave in with a moan.

Kassandra bucked her hips at Claudia's touches, but realised that was it. Claudia was merely leaving lingering light touches, like Ikaros flying around her cave, just scanning. But what Kassandra needed was more, much more! "Claudia..." Her desire was palpable in that single word, and when Claudia looked up with a smug grin, she knew she was now in the mercy of the younger woman.  
"Say please?"  
"Please!" Kassandra groaned.

Satisfied, Claudia gave Kassandra exactly what she needed, exploring the cave with one, then two fingers. Kassandra moaned and pressed the back of her head so hard into the pillow she thought she was going to break through the bed. But Claudia was going to give her more. She kissed her way down Kassandra's stomach, placing extra kisses on the scars on the way, till she finally reached the south. She could feel her own warm juices pooling between her legs as she breathed in the Spartan's arousal. But she would wait. With her two fingers still thrusting, she gave Kassandra a few long licks which made her growled like a hungry wolf. 

As Claudia devoured her greedily, Kassandra's heart was palpitating wildly and all she could hear was her heavy breathing. Her hips moved almost faster than Claudia's fingers as she rode towards the edge of her limit. Finally she made her leap of faith into the sea of orgasm and screamed "MALAKA!" so loudly that Claudia was certain all the courtesans in the brothel could hear her.

While Kassandra calmed down from her climax, Claudia kissed her way up her ripped stomach again, to the valley between her peaks, to her collarbone and neck, till she reached that dry pair of lips. Kassandra groaned softly to welcome Claudia's warm and wet lips and wrapped her arms around her tightly. More kisses later, Claudia unlocked their lips and rested her head in the nook of Kassandra's neck. She grazed her fingers on the Spartan's bicep, feeling the protruding scars and pounding veins. "I hope you're as strong as you look."  
"Well, I am." Kassandra kissed Claudia's forehead gently, her breath was no longer heavy and sporadic.  
"Good. Because it'll take more to satisfy me." Claudia looked up with a smirk, and a pair of sultry eyes.


	4. Rescuing Caterina Storza

The sun had just set when Ezio and Kassandra walked out of the tunnel. Nearby, a small crowd gathered in front of a herald, listening to the latest announcements in the city. Why they were taxed again, and why the assassin Ezio Auditore was a menace and should be put down. A couple of merchants holding heavy crates hurried pass the duo, a few men lurking near a tower took a glance at them then returned to what looked like an important discussion. Ezio adjusted his hood and took a stride forward, his white robe floated slightly as a light breeze gusted through it. Claudia’s girls had found out that Cesare had locked Caterina up in the Castel Sant' Angelo, and today Kassandra and he would save the damsel in distress.

"Ezio. Wait." Kassandra muttered softly behind.  
"What's the matter? We should hurry." Ezio whispered as he turned around. What he expected was the mighty Spartan woman to give him some advise for their mission. But what he saw was Kassandra resting a hand on the side of the tunnel entrance, the other on her side as she bent over. Her face was whiter than his robe.  
"Malaka... how can you use these tunnels?! There's so little air inside and the only air reeks like Barnabas after we have sailed for a week!" The Spartan groaned in heavy breath.  
"I... guess I'm already used to it?" Ezio scratched his beard lightly. Was it really that rancid? He had never noticed.

After Kassandra had her rest, the duo walked across the small piazza swiftly but surreptitiously. Their eyes were hidden in their hoods but were also casing the surrounding cautiously.  
“Castel Sant' Angelo is just across that ponte.” Ezio tilted his chin towards the large bridge they were approaching. “But that whole district is heavily guarded.” It was an understatement. Kassandra could see at least a dozen guards on the bridge itself, and many more on the other side; some on the ground level at the bank, some on the battlement.

Ezio led Kassandra to the side of the bridge, away from the guards’ sight, and pointed to the wooden poles in the river below the bridge. “We have to go from below.”  
“As long as I don’t have to swim.” This long leather coat would take much longer to dry than the armor she used to wear in Greece, and she hated running about in wet clothes.  
“I hate swimming too.” With a short chuckle, Ezio jumped down from the edge and landed on the first wooden pole deftly like a seagull. Kassandra followed behind, and in a few leaps, they had already reached the other side of the bridge. Ezio looked up the tall wall at the bank and spotted a guard. “I'll take care of him first. Then we'll scout the area…”  
“No, wait.” Kassandra placed a hand on his shoulder. Then without warning, she let out a loud cry that sounded like a crow.  
“What the…?!” Ezio was shocked, half deaf and about to ask her why the inferno did she do that when an eagle flew down from the sky and landed on her raised forearm. That had to be the most bizarre sight.  
“Ikaros, scan the area, will you?” Kassandra patted the eagle’s head and after it flew away in a high-pitched screech, she turned to Ezio with a smirk. “Now we wait.”  
“You have a freaking eagle?!” Ezio was still gaping at the eagle which had flew so high up it was disappeared into the dark blue sky.  
“Yes, this is Ikaros the Twenty Second.” She nodded nonchalantly. “He’ll tell us what he sees.” 

A few moment later, Ikaros the Twenty Second returned to Kassandra’s forearm, making short screeches as she fed him some seeds. “Thanks, Ikaros.” Kassandra lifted her arm and sent the eagle away before returning her attention to Ezio. “The woman we’re rescuing is in the west tower.”  
“The eagle told you that?!” Ezio stared at Kassandra, bewildered and did not know whether to believe her.  
“I’m sorry I didn’t pass this trait to you, Ezio.” She patted his shoulder gently with a soft sigh.  
“You didn't pass what to me?” And now he could not understand a thing she said.  
“Well, it doesn’t matter! Let’s go rescue your Caterina! You said you could take care of that guard?” She pointed to the guard still patrolling on the bank above them.  
“Si.” Ezio nodded and regained his composure. After a quick gauge of the wall, he was already climbing up the wall swiftly with his deft limbs. He clung on to the edge of the wall and waited till the guard walked close enough, then with a strong pull of his leg, he threw the guard down the bank, killing him instantly.

The assassin and the misthios then climbed up the battlement and ran towards the west tower, sending more guards to the Underworld with their crossbow and hunter bow. Ezio was impressed with how Kassandra could kill as fast, or maybe even faster than him, with her archaic bow and arrows. Once they reached their destination, the duo scaled up the tower on their own time. Ezio’s ego urged him to show Kassandra what he was capable of and he wanted to reach the top of the tower faster than her. He grabbed the sides of windows, and bricks and cracks on the wall to pull himself higher and higher. He was delighted to see protruding wooden beams sticking out of the tower's side. With a quick leaps on those beams, he was able to reach the top of the tower in no time. But when he jumped down into the courtyard on the top of the tower, his brows were creased. Kassandra was already standing there impatiently with her arms folded in front of her chest, and a dead guard lying next to her long black leather boot. “What took you so long?”  
“How did you reach here so fast?!” Ezio was still catching his breath.  
“By climbing faster than you.” Her lips curled up into a smug grin. 

They walked the stairs down two levels and knew they had reached the prison when they heard the guards teasing a female prisoner. Ezio took the lead and walked towards the two guards' back . Before they could turn around, he raised both arms and his hidden blades pierced through their necks simultaneously, killing them on the spot.  
"Ezio!" The female prisoner shouted from inside the cell. It was none other than Caterina Storza.  
“Caterina! Are you alright?” Ezio rushed to the metal gate and looked down. The woman was lying sideways on the ground and appeared to have hurt her leg.  
“Do I look like I’m alright?” Apparently she was still strong enough to roll her eyes.  
“No keys!” Kassandra announced after checking the two dead guards.  
"The guard handed his key to Lucrezia." Caterina looked at the mysterious woman she had not seen before. She assumed that she must be another assassin Ezio had recruited.  
"Do you know where she is?" Ezio’s brows furrowed. He would need to get the key from the woman if this rescue mission were to be successful.  
"Her quarters are at the top of the castello. But Ezio, from what I heard, Cesare is here too. This is your chance to kill him!" Caterina wished to get out of this filthy cell as soon as she could, but she also knew killing Cesare was more crucial.  
“Let’s split. You chase after Cesare, I’ll get the key from that Lucrezia woman.” Kassandra suggested and Ezio thanked the heaven that he brought her along.

Ezio might not have an eagle, but he had his Eagle Vision to locate Cesare quickly. He found the man in a heated argument with four of his associates near the castle gate.  
“Merda!” Ezio cursed under his breath. From the spot he was hiding, he did not have a clean shot and there were ten guards standing by the men. It was too high a risk to attempt an assassination. But he could at least listen to their discussion.  
"Forget the Pope! You only answer to me!" Cesare berated at his associates.  
"What about the Vaticano?" One of the associates asked timidly.  
"That tired old man's club.” He scoffed. “Play along for now. But soon we will have no need of them."  
“What are you planning, Cesare?” Ezio wondered as he watched the man walked out of the gate. Fine. He would let him live a little longer.

Meanwhile, Kassandra spotted Lucrezia flirting with a man right in the courtyard at the tower. After the man left, she emerged from the shadow to reveal herself to the Italian woman. "Chaire."  
"Who are you?!" Lucrezia held her chest with a gasp and took a step back.  
"I'm a misthios. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you." With a wry grin, Kassandra let her hood down and lifted her empty hands to prove her point.  
"Oh?" Still contemplating whether to believe her, Lucrezia now studied the tall and strong woman who was obviously dressed like an assassin. "Then why are you here? And what's a misthios?"  
Kassandra took a step forward to close their gap and flashed her most charming smile. "Someone who's here to sate your deepest desire." 

When Ezio returned to the prison, Caterina was already out of her cell and seated by the guards' table with Kassandra. "Did you kill him?"  
"No. I didn't have the chance." Ezio shook his head. "Did you kill Lucrezia?" He looked at Kassandra.  
"No. She's rather... tied up on her bed though." Kassandra gave him a smug grin again, and he would not want to know how Lucrezia ended up tied to her bed. Though he could guess.

Ezio walked over to Caterina and gave her his arm. "Can you walk?" He looked at her with concern.  
“What do you think? Carry me!” 


	5. Fight like a Spartan!

“You fight like an Athenian philosopher.” Kassandra mentioned nonchalantly as she shoved a forkful of linguine into her mouth. She had developed a liking for these chewy wheat things. Especially with this delectable sauce they called Bolognese.  
“What?!” Ezio looked up from his plate from the other side of the table. He could not believe that the Spartan woman had just insulted him in front of his mother and sister at the dinner table.

“Toosloomaamtoomooshvvaideen.”  
“Sounds like Greek to me.”  
“She said, too slow and too much waiting.” Claudia added as she scooped some vitello arrosto onto her plate and Kassandra nodded in agreement, still chewing on her mouthful of pasta.  
“How can you even understand that?” Ezio turned to his sister in surprise.  
“Oh, I’m used to her mumbling when she’s eating.” Claudia flashed him a grin so suggestive Ezio regretted asking. Maria merely coughed dryly.

“Actually, Sokrates would have finished his speech before you killed your opponent.” Having swallowed that mouthful of linguine, Kassandra was refilling her plate with more linguine and some roast veal. Maria watched her in her side glance, praying to God that the kitchen had cooked enough to feed this Spartan this time.  
“This is nonsense! I’m not slow!” Ezio pointed his fork at Kassandra and promptly put it down when he caught a this-is-not-how-I-raised-you glare from Maria. “I’m sure my victims would agree with me.”  
“That’s only because they’re even slower.” Kassandra snorted and shoved a big piece of veal into her mouth without cutting.  
“Fine! Let’s have a match tomorrow and you can chiudi il becco!”  
“Sure!”  
“Kassandra, promise me you won’t kill my son.” Maria gave the Spartan a gentle smile as she sliced her veal.

The next morning, Ezio took Kassandra to the small courtyard behind Rosa in Fiore. In place of their falchion and sword, they each hold a wooden stick in their hand. With a deep breath, Ezio took up a steady stance, feet slightly wider than his shoulders, left foot in front, right behind. Wooden stick on his right, he raised his left arm to shoulder height, and shifted two-third of his weight on his right leg. He stared straight into Kassandra's eyes, unwavering. He was all ready to prove the Spartan woman wrong. On the other side, Kassandra just swung her wooden stick about casually. "Ready?"

"Let's start!" With a coarse roar, Ezio dashed forward, slashing his wooden stick as swiftly as he could; right to left then left to right, up and down again and again, aiming at Kassandra's top torso. The Spartan was forced to step backwards to block each stroke as he pressed forward. Ezio's strokes were strong and precise. But like she said, too slow. And too predictable. On his next downwards stroke, she caught his wrist and locked his hand and stick firmly in place, then hit his left shoulder with her stick. With a groan, Ezio struggled to pull his right hand out of her grip and stepped back in pain. He totally did not see that coming. Or the next thing that happened. When Kassandra started singing.

"Let's get down to business, to fight like Spartans~!" She pointed her stick at his face. "All of Artemis' daughters can beat you, my son!"  
"You've the slowest attack I've ever seen,  
But you can bet before we're through,  
Ezio, I'll make a Spartan out of you!"

Ezio planted his feet firmly on the ground, gritted his teeth and tightened his jaws. His grip on the wooden stick tightened as he got ready to strike again. He swore on his Italian heritage he would not lose to her. At least not in singing!  
"Tranquil as Venezia but on fire within!  
Once I find your weakness, I am sure to win!"

With the growl of a hungry lion, Ezio jumped up and threw a high kick at Kassandra's face. That move indeed caught Kassandra by surprise and his boot missed her cheek by a hair as she dodged. Ezio knew he had the upper hand when the Spartan stumbled backwards and with a grin and renewed confidence, he lashed forward with strong stabs alternating left and right, aiming for her neck and chest without a fixed sequence this time. Finally after a dozen or more stabs, one hit Kassandra on her chest. Ezio guffawed and sang.  
"I'm an Auditore, fast and strong,  
And I'll now prove you wrong.  
I don't need to be a Spartan like you!"

But Kassandra had been fighting all her life in the Peloponnesian War and more in the next thousand over years. Ezio was a strong man and that stab on her chest drew the air out of her lungs, but it was merely a scratch compared to the scars she won from fighting the Minotaur. Hell, she did not survive Cerberus to lose to her descendant! With a strong swing of her stick, she blocked and pushed away Ezio's next stab. Her gaze on him changed from fighting-Cyclops-of-Kephallonia to fighting-the-real-Cyclops. When Ezio started his series of attack again, Kassandra held her stick close to her chest to block his stabs then deftly stepped sideways and lowered her body. Having evaded his attack, she swung her stick and hit the man hard on his side. With a painful huff, Ezio stumbled backwards.

"I was just letting you catch your breath~!" Ezio sang as he steadied himself, his left hand holding his sore side.  
"Say goodbye to those who knew you." Kassandra sang along with a smirk. "Boy you need to learn to fight like a girl~!"  
"I've got more up my sleeves." He sang.  
"Oh I sure can see right through you! Now you really wish that you know how to fight~!" She sang back. 

"Be a Spartan~!" Kassandra took the lead in attack this time, spinning her body in quick rounds towards the man like a horizontal waterwheel, swinging her stick at him.  
"I am swift as the Tiber River!" Ezio stepped back hastily, blocking her every swing, almost missing a few. He could already feel the burning pain in his palm.  
"Be a Spartan~!" Kassandra sang louder as she suddenly stopped turning and instead starting slashing diagonally almost like how Ezio did at the beginning of the fight, but faster.  
"My defense is strong as the Vaticano!" Ezio sang louder in response but he had already missed two strokes which landed on his upper arms.  
"Be a Spartan~!" Ending with a loud growl like the Kretan Bull, Kassandra lifted her right leg and kicked Ezio right on his stomach, sending him flying across the courtyard till the wall broke his flight, and his voice as he screamed.

"Malaka!" Kassandra quickly ran over and squatted down to check on the Italian on the ground. "I'm sorry, Ezio! I shouldn't have used the Spartan Kick!"  
"It's fine..." Ezio muttered softly in short breath and acute pain. "Just... teach me how to kick like this?"


	6. It's not the size of the boat

“We’re meeting my friend Leonardo today.” Ezio whispered as Kassandra and he blended in a crowd walking towards the piazza. Kassandra merely threw him a glance and a nod, and their gaze were back to the road ahead, as if they were strangers to each other. As the crowd made a turn, Ezio stopped in front of a bench by a house facing the piazza. Kassandra observed that this bench looked rather different from all the others in the city. “Let’s sit.” Ezio sat in the middle of the bench, bending down with elbows on his knees, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

The duo did not have to wait long for Leonardo to appear, in his usual black giornea and red hat. He cased around quickly to make sure nobody was looking before sitting down next to Ezio. He took a not-as-quick glance at the hooded woman in long black leather coat who was sitting next to his friend, before looking straight ahead, pretending not to know either.  
“Ezio, why did you bring your recruit along?” Leonardo whispered.  
“She’s not my recruit. She’s… Kassandra.” Ezio spoke softly, looking ahead as well.  
“Chaire.” Kassandra nodded to Leonardo and smiled.  
“Hush!” Leonardo whispered a little louder and quickly looked away from the woman to continue staring blankly ahead. “This is a secret meeting! We need to be inconspicuous!”  
“But this bench is already conspicuous.” Kassandra said dryly.  
“This is just a normal bench.”  
“With red velvet covers and a letter L painted on it.”  
“Enough about the bench!” Ezio almost shouted. “Leonardo, why did you ask to meet?”

“Right.” Leonardo cleared his throat and quickly put on his serious business face. “I’ve information about the other war machine. It’s at Napoli. You need to find Eduardo at the porto.”  
“What have you invented for the Borgia this time, Leonardo?” Ezio had to look at his friend and groan.  
“It’s a cannon, small enough to be placed on a gondola, but very powerful. And very destructive.” Leonardo returned his friend a weak smile that was a little embarrassed but also a little proud.  
“Mio amico…” Ezio sighed as he rubbed his temples.

Ezio and Kassandra traveled to Napoli immediately that day. The following morning they met outside their rooms at the guesthouse, but Ezio was not prepared for what he saw. Kassandra had ditched her long black leather coat for a corset which looked like it was made of bronze, and a tan brown tassets. That was pretty much all she was wearing. Except for the bronze bracers covering her forearms and a pair of knee-high leather greaves. She was dressed like a true Spartan that she claimed she was, showing off her well-defined collarbones, her lean and mean biceps beautifully decorated by a couple of protruding veins and a few more scars, and those athletic thighs that could crush a man’s head. And Ezio might have been ogling. 

“Well, this is so much more comfortable.” Kassandra stood proudly in her favorite armor, her hands on her hips, and chest out when she saw where Ezio was staring at.  
“You... you are a Spartan!”  
“I said that the first day we met!”  
“But…” Ezio closed his eyes and pinched between his brows and took a deep breath to gather his thoughts and direct his blood up to the other head which was on his shoulders. “But why are you wearing this? I mean… this is too… too conspicuous!” And revealing, leaving little to imagination, though he was still imagining, and begging his brain to stop.  
“We’re going to the port, yes?”  
“Si!”  
“Some swimming would be inevitable, yes?”  
“Si!”  
“Well, I swim faster in this, and it dries so much faster than that big ass leather coat!” Kassandra turned her smile into a smug grin and folded her arms across her chest. Ezio could only answer with a defeated groan. He could not think of a reason to rebut that. Now that his brain was available for thinking at this moment.  
“Fine. We’ll go by the roof. _Only_ the roof!”

When they reached the Porto di Napoli, Kassandra was awed by how large the port was, with bridges and walkways extended beyond the fortress wall. And of course a place as such would be heavily guarded.  
“We’ll need to get past these guards to Eduardo.” Ezio pointed at the numerous guards pacing the wooden walkways by the fortress wall.  
“Not a problem.” With a smirk, Kassandra held her hunter bow on her hands. And Ezio responded with his crossbow. 

Some arrows and dead guards later, they reached Eduardo and Ezio held him up by his collar.  
“Wait! Wait! You’re an assassin, am I right?” The panicked man chose to talk instead of fighting back. “You must stop Cesare! I will help you!”  
“Grazie.” With a smile, Ezio put the man down. That would make things so much easier.  
“I’ll lead you to the dry dock. Follow me.” Eduardo quickly got onto a nearby gondola and started rowing.  
“Here's the swimming you've been expecting.” Ezio turned to Kassandra and smirked as she groaned in displeasure.  
“I hope there’s no sharks.”  
“No, I don’t think so.”  
“And no crocodiles nor hippopotami.”  
“No! Where have you been swimming?” Ezio quirked a curious brow at these ludicrous questions.  
“All over Greece and Egypt.” The well-traveled woman muttered and dived into the water first.

Eduardo rowed into a tunnel with the assassin and misthios following tightly behind. Soon he reached the first of the three gates leading to the dry dock. While the guard opened the gate for Eduardo, the duo got out of the water and climbed up to the wooden beams above. That allowed them to sneak pass the gate and the oblivious guards on the wooden walkway along the side of the tunnel. On the way, they took down the guards who happened to look up. Kassandra was impressed with how fast and precise Ezio’s crossbow was, definitely more efficient than her old hunting bow. She also liked what he called an Air Assassination, when he would jump down and land on a guard, killing him instantly with his hidden blade. He looked just like Darius. And that reminded her of Nakatas and she could feel the never-healing wound on her heart aching again.

Once they reached the dry dock and had taken care of the guards guarding a single gondola, Ezio found the blueprint of Leonardo’s machine hanging on a wall, along with some other papers of sketches and formulas. “Perdonami, Leonardo. These have to go.” He lamented as he held his torch over and watched all these precious knowledge turned into ashes.

“So this is what we’ve come to destroy?” Meanwhile, Kassandra had already climbed up the stands and onto the gondola and found a huge cannon fixed on its front.  
“Si. Stay there. I’ll flood the dock.” Ezio spotted the wooden wheel to open the water pipe right at the top of the dock. He cased the wooden beams and hanging platforms above and quickly planned a route up, leaping from one wooden beam to another, one hanging platform to another. Kassandra did not idle on the gondola and wait as Ezio had instructed. She spotted the guards on the upper platforms and shot them down before they started shooting at her companion. Ezio was thankful but also wondered how she managed to do that when she certainly did not have a clear shot on some of the guards. In fact, he swore he saw a few of those arrows making a curve, as if she was controlling them! Was that a Spartan Shot?

Finally, Ezio reached the wooden wheel, and with a few turns, the pipe was opened and water started to flood the dock. He took a leap into the water and swam up to the gondola which was free from the stands now. “Let’s go sink some of that bastardo Cesare’s ships!”  
“What?” Kassandra looked at the ship right in front as they exited the dock. The ship looked bigger than her Adrestia and they were on a gondola! Her big umber eyes stared at Ezio who was rowing towards the enemy ship with unfounded confidence. “You want to sink that _big_ ship using this _small_ boat?!”  
“Using the _cannon_ on this small boat!”  
“What makes you think they don’t have any cannon?!” Kassandra’s question was answered when a ball of fire was shot at them and landed in the water, missing their gondola by just a few feet. It was quickly followed by more cannon balls and gun shots.  
“Quick! Man the cannon! Shoot them!” Ezio shouted as he frantically rowed the gondola to dodge the next incoming attack.  
“How do I even use this thing?!” Kassandra shouted and fumbled on the cannon to find the controls to load and fire.  
“I don’t know! Just turn and press everything!” 

“Malaka!” After more Greek curse words and some fist smashing on the cannon, Kassandra finally managed to fire a shot which landed on the enemy ship’s hull. To her surprise, this small cannon indeed gave quite a punch, and a fire had already started in the hull.  
“The sails! Aim for the sails!” Ezio shouted as he saw the effectiveness of this cannon. At the same time, a fire ball nearly hit their gondola, and though Ezio managed to row away and dodge in time, the impact on the water created waves so large that Ezio thought they were going to capsize when they hit the gondola.  
“I'm trying! Stop moving so much!” Kassandra shouted, trying her best to stabilize her shots when the gondola was pitching and rolling dreadfully.  
"I'm trying!" Ezio tightened his grip on the oar and gave all he had. He would never imagine that rowing a gondola could be so painfully exhausting.

With blessings from Zeus, Kassandra eventually managed to land the cannon balls onto the sails and set two of them on fire. The ship crew started to panic, and some stopped shooting to help in extinguishing the fire on board. This bought the duo more breathing space and Kassandra fired more cannon balls onto the remaining sails, finally setting all the sails on fire. 

“Molto bene! Now we just have to sink the other three ships, and then we can destroy this cannon!” With regained confidence, Ezio rowed towards the other three ships nearby.  
“Malaka! You crazy Italian!”


End file.
